


To a Degree

by Kylohhh



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angry Kylo Ren, Blood and Violence, Childhood Trauma, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Flashbacks, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Inspired by She's the Man (2006), Kylo Ren and Rey Are Not Related, Kylo and Rey are the same age because I say so, Kylo sweeping... I mean... knocking Rey off her feet, Rey-Centric, Roommates, Sharing a Room, Slow Burn, The rating’s going up with the chapter count
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-04-26 05:48:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14395614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kylohhh/pseuds/Kylohhh
Summary: It's move-in day at Jakku University! Rey's day starts off with a run-in with a stupid jerk with stupid good hair. Her new friend Finn helps her get back on track until a tiny clerical error threatens to ruin her whole school year...*****“Did I look? If you could put one foot in front of the other without that map in front of your face you might actually get where you are going in one piece!”“How could you even tell with that much hair in your face?”He abruptly ran the hand he had been holding out to her through the dark mane of hair in question before picking up a cardboard box out of the back seat.“Whatever. You’re right. It’s definitely my fault. Be sure to explain that to the car that runs you over the next time you wander out into the street.”





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying out a Modern AU fic this go-around. I'm thinking this could work out to be a series. Let me know if you're interested in seeing where this goes. Come say hi on Tumblr! @Kylohhh

The yellow cab pulling up caught quite a few eyes from the sea of parents and students dragging suitcases and lugging Target bags full of brand new color-coordinated sheet sets across the quad. Her neck prickled at the flicker of sympathetic eyes on her back. In her limited experience, Southern women were the absolute worst; They could keep their bless your hearts and oh honeys to themselves. She got this far on her own perfectly well, thank you. As she hoisted the stuffed duffel bag out of the trunk, the sum total of all her possessions couldn’t weigh down the soaring feeling of freedom tugging at her heart.

Another cab pulled up behind her. Well, at least she wasn’t the only one who showed up on the first day in a taxi instead of having mommy and daddy drop her off. Her hand reached to the back pocket of her cut offs to tug out the carefully folded campus map, trying to figure out where she was in relation to the Freshman Welcome Meeting that was due to start any minute. Eyes on the map, she quickly turned right, hoping to make it to the auditorium before the session started. 

“WATCH IT!” 

When she opened her eyes, she was staring up at a wall of black clothes and a pair of pretty brown eyes. Her focus trailed over the pale skin of his face to his thick shoulder length black hair… and speaking of shoulders, he must be built under that Disturbed t-shirt. The short sleeves were straining to contain the deltoids and biceps that flexed as he reached down to offer her a hand. A cocky smile ghosted across the corners of his lips. She blinked up from the pavement for a moment before she scrambled to her feet, ignoring the proffered hand. 

“Did you even look before you opened the door? You could have seriously hurt me!”

“Did I look? If you could put one foot in front of the other without that map in front of your face you might actually get where you are going in one piece!”

“How could you even tell with that much hair in your face?”

He abruptly ran the hand he had been holding out to her through the dark mane of hair in question before picking up a cardboard box out of the back seat. 

“Whatever. You’re right. It’s definitely my fault. Be sure to explain that to the car that runs you over the next time you wander out into the street.” 

With that, the jackass stalked off in the opposite direction.

“What is with that dude?”

Rey’s head snapped towards the voice, finding a guy about her age. She could tell that he wasn’t from around there either, as his skin was glistening umber under the August sun. Only the locals managed to walk in this heat for any length of time without melting into a puddle of sweat. Diametrically different from the jerk that just accosted her, his hair was cropped close and a smile played across his full lips. He crouched down to pick up her duffle bag, swinging it over his broad shoulders and standing up as if awaiting orders. 

“I don’t need your help, you know. I can carry it myself.” She winced as what she intended to be a bold assertion of her independence came out closer to an adolescent whine. 

“I know you can, but let me help. The name’s Finn. I’m guessing you’re a freshman too?” he asked, looking down at the map that was clearly torn from the campus brochure. “You wouldn’t happen to know where that meeting is, would you? I think it’s starting soon and they’re supposed to give out our dorm assignments at the end.” 

“Rey Niima and no, I haven’t the foggiest.” Unspoken agreement in place, they started off in search of the auditorium. Oddly enough, she found herself relaxing around her new acquaintance, letting his chatter wash over her as they walked through the quad. She did have to keep twitching her hand out of his though. Honestly, did he think she couldn’t get there on her own? They finally spotted a sign directing them to the Freshman Welcome Meeting and hustled through the double doors just as a speaker was taking the stage. 

Ducking into the last row, where they could keep an eye on the bags propped up against the wall, Rey and Finn’s excitement for their room assignments was not dampened by the usual dross about how the journey was as important as the destination. His giddiness reaching a fever pitch at the end of the list of Freshmen thou shalt nots, Finn elbowed her sharply in the ribs. Grinning, she elbowed him back as the stately speaker, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, released the auditorium to line up at booths in the hall divided alphabetically by students’ last names. 

The two slung their bags over their shoulders again and made their way through the throngs of students to the harried looking pair of girls at the M through P desk. The two had to be related, as they shared the same dark hair and put-upon expressions. The older girl, Paige according to her name tag, procured a folder of dorm guidelines for each of them with a label announcing their name and room assignment stuck to the front.

Niima, Rey and Trooper, Finn picked up their room assignments, thrilled that they were both assigned to Akbar Hall. Rey was surprised that she had been assigned to a coed dorm; Jakku University was known for being a bit old fashioned about guys and girls sharing a living space. As they trudged across the campus to their home for the next two semesters, she reflected that making one friend that lived in the same dorm completely outweighed literally running into a total dickhead for three seconds. Although the day started rough, things were really looking up. 

She and Finn split off at the stairwell with a promise to meet up later to find the nearest dining hall with tacos. With more than fifteen thousand students enrolled at the university, Finn reasoned that someone, somewhere was serving tacos. Rey continued up to floor B and made a right onto hall B. Quadruple-checking the room assignment, she reached for the door handle of room BB-8 and-

“Again? Are you trying to set some sort of fucking record?”

Rey slammed her eyes shut, wishing that the linoleum floor would swallow her whole. It would certainly be much easier she reasoned, as she was flat on her back against the surface, praying that the permanently lingering stench of gym socks and dude wouldn’t rub off. 

“Is there any particular reason you are ambushing me from my own room?” she bit out. 

His eyebrow quirked, and a sarcastic semblance of a smile curled at the corner of his lips. “Your room? Try again, sweetheart. This is my room.”

Sitting up, she looked past his looming shoulders to the name placard. The jerk beamed her with a door twice, but managed to miss the names printed in 54 point font. Rolling her eyes, she pointed to the sign that the lumbering idiot clearly ignored. “Ren and Niima. My room. Now get the hell out and I won’t tell the RA or the Ren girl that a pissed-off Pantene commercial was lurking in our room.”

Rey found herself wondering how the overgrown tree had managed to get into her room in the first place. All of the rooms had locks like a hotel and used their student IDs in place of a key card. Someone must have let him in. What if her new nemesis was dating her roommate? Or they were siblings? God forbid twins! Would she really be expected to tolerate him for the whole school year?

“Are you stupid or something? I’m Ren and this is a men’s dorm. Figure your shit out.” He abruptly turned and slammed the door behind him.


	2. Making the Cut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's scholarship is threatened, but it's Poe's style sense that saves the day.
> 
> Rey gets a makeover, Finn finally gets the Mexican food he's been after, and Poe gets the last laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back to our freshmen shenanigans! Sorry it's a short chapter, I'm planning on a longer one next to make up for it. Thanks to Dalzo for being a sounding board for ideas. 
> 
> Come say hi on Tumblr! @Kylohhh

Rey tumbled into Finn’s room as soon as he opened the door, impenitent for her incessant banging. Paying no attention to the second man in the room, she threw her bag on Finn’s yet unmade bed and whirled around to face her friend. 

“IT’S NOT A COED DORM and remember that guy from before? Well he’s my assigned roommate and he won’t let me in and I have nowhere to go and I don’t know what to do! Does this mean I have nowhere to live? Will they assign me a new dorm or will I have to get an apartment last minute? Because I don’t have any money for a deposit! I already spent all my money on the flight over here and if I have no room assignment I will have to get a job to pay for a place to live and my grades will suffer and then I will lose my scholarship and then I will be homeless and then I will be deported and then I will never ever be free of that stupid Unkar Plutt and I swore to myself that I am never going back and I won’t do it! I won’t! They can’t make me!”

As Rey came up for air, Finn and the other guy just stared for a second, processing Rey’s mile-a-minute rant. 

“Okay Peanut, let’s roll it back to the beginning,” Finn gently coaxed.

Rey’s breathing leveled out and she sat down on the foot of Finn’s bed. “You know that jerk that knocked me over?” Finn nodded. “Well he’s my assigned roommate. He said the dorm isn’t coed and to basically get lost.”

“Here’s what we’re gonna do: Step one, find an RA to sort this out. Step two: Get dinner. Finn said something about tacos and I’m down for that. Step three: Never speak to that jackwagon again. Poe Dameron by the way.” During his recitation, Rey eyeballed the handsome new roommate Finn had been assigned. Dark curls spilled from the crown of his head and his confidence was infectious. The thousand-watt smile aimed her way was certainly not hurting either.

Finn nodded in agreement and the trio set off in search of an RA. 

The RA responsible for Rey’s hall looked exhausted and almost bored as they recited the issue. Rolling his eyes, he sighed, “Look, move-in day is batshit crazy enough as-is without you three making up stories.”

The trio stumbled over themselves to insist on the truth. 

“Look at her student ID! It’s clearly her in the picture!” Finn insisted.

“Thank goodness you’ve pointed it out, because otherwise I would have lived my whole life thinking I was a woman. What gave it away?” Rey asked, hands on her hips and vitriol spilling from her lips. 

“Her name is Rey, but that doesn’t mean she’s a dude! I, for one, went out a few times with a smoking hot babe named Jay and I can personally assure you she was definitely female…” Poe blurted out.

The last statement earned Poe a quirked eyebrow from the RA, but he still wouldn’t budge. 

“Look guys, I know Rey Niima is definitely male. Know how I know? I had to do the freshmen’s scholarship bulletin board in the lobby downstairs. Rey is here on the Windu Scholarship for Engineering. It’s awarded to one male and one female engineering student each year and another RA’s little sister is the other award recipient. So yeah, Rey’s male. He wouldn’t have that full ride scholarship if Rey was a girl. I’m not sure what kind of prank you all are trying to pull but cut it out.”

Finn’s eyes were wide as saucers as he turned to Rey. In the nearby mirror, she could see Poe standing behind her, running his fingers anxiously through his hair.

Laughing nervously, Rey squeaked out, “Yeah, you got us. Just playing a good-old freshers prank. We’ll have to try harder next time, boys!” Wincing at her awful acting, the guys sidled out of the room after her.

Finn led the way to the nearest dining hall after deciding that it would be easier to think on a full stomach. Shrugging that the burritos on offer were close enough to tacos, the three tucked in to their plates and didn’t say a word until they were finished.

Stirring the ice around her glass with a straw, Rey drug her eyes up from her plate to the two young men sitting patiently across the table. Funny, she thought, how quickly strangers can seem like friends. Or enemies. Her visage turned stormy at the thought of that Ren kid holing up in their room. 

“I think we are just going to have to make due with it.”

“Uh, Rey? I’m pretty sure you can’t just decide to live in a men’s dorm. That one RA’s an idiot, but there are 400 guys living in that building. Someone else is bound to notice a girl living there, not to mention your roommate situation.” 

Poe nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I think you are going to have to come clean with the administration. It’s not like you could pretend to be a guy for a whole school year.”

The flat of Rey’s hand came down so hard it shook the table. “THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I’LL DO!”

“Poe, check her drink. There’s got to be something funny in that iced tea. She’s been a tornado since I met her this morning, but I didn’t think she was this crazy.”

Rey shook her head emphatically, which only underscored the slightly unhinged look in her eye. “No, I’m here on a full-ride scholarship. If that means I have to pretend to be a guy, then I’ll do it. Just until May, when I will have saved up enough money for an apartment for the summer semester.”

Shaking his head, Poe looked up at Rey through thick eyelashes. A smirk creeped across his face, “It’s crazy all right. So crazy, it just might work.”

Back in the guy’s room, Rey spread out her meager wardrobe for inspection. She’d never been so thankful that the years spent with her penny-pinching foster family had left her with baggy hand-me-down jeans and worn t-shirts. Poe announced them to be passable, while fretting over her shoe options. He announced his triumph as he unearthed a pair of black high-tops from the bottom of her duffle bag, holding them above his head in a victory pose.

Finn sat stunned on the edge of his desk, shaking his head, “Ok, so you have the clothes for it, I’ll admit it. But you can’t walk around with that hat on for the entire year. We will figure something else out! Trying to pretend you’re a guy with butt length hair is just not going to work. ”

Rey paused in the middle of stuffing her brown locks under the brim of the cap. 

“You’re right. It’s got to go!” Rey proclaimed, reaching across his desk to snatch up a pair of scissors. Finn gaped in horror as she started hacking away at her brunette mane.

“That is so not what I meant!” Finn panicked. “I meant there’s always a chance they will just let you keep your scholarship. It’s not your fault!”

“Princess,” Poe said with a wry smile, “If you are going to do it, at least do it properly.” Pulling a case with clippers and various length combs, he set to work creating a little barbershop in front of the mirror. As Rey plopped into his desk chair, he twirled a bed sheet around her neck with the panache of a matador. 

“Rey, you don’t have to do this. You could still get a nice girl’s haircut and talk to the administration in the morning,” Finn persuaded. “I’m sure there’s another way!”

Locking eyes with Poe in the mirror, Rey nodded once and shut her eyes as the hum of the clippers drew near. After what felt like forever, Poe pronounced her done and whisked the sheet from her shoulders. Peaking at her reflection through squinted eyes she saw… a stranger. A striking stranger with a fresh undercut. Running her hand down the newly bared skin on the back of her head, she turned around and grinned at the guys.

“What do you think?”

Astonishment was the only way to describe it. The two gaped like fish until Finn finally remembered how to form words. “I.. It’s… It’s perfect. I didn’t think you could pull it off, but you proved me wrong.”

Poe slid back into his cocky demeanor, “Did you ever doubt me?”

“Yes,” the two-chimed back. 

Rey ran to the communal bathroom, praying there were no other occupants as she couldn’t hold it much longer. Dang the south and their bottomless iced tea. 

Finn paused in the middle of sweeping up the brown locks spread like autumn leaves across the linoleum. Leaning against the broom with his brow furrowed, he looked over at the back of his roommate’s head. 

“Poe?” he asked. “There’s one thing that’s been bothering me. Why do you have clippers when you don’t use them?”

“I do use them,” he said casually over his shoulder. 

“But you have pretty long hair for a guy. There’s no way you did that with clippers.” 

“I never said I used them on my head,” he grinned. 

“Oh man, that is royally fucked up,” Finn choked out through a gale of laughter. “I’m not telling her.”


	3. A Sticky Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chapter in which Finn rightfully goes on a bit of a rant, Maz gets a new employee, Rey sees a butt, and Kylo makes sexual remarks involving candy.

“Not telling me what?” Rey asked, eyes flitting from one guilty face to another.  
   
How, Finn wondered, did she come back in so quietly? Realizing that the silence was ticking on, he grabbed the next thought that crossed his mind and threw it out of his mouth.  
  
“So it’s getting late and you should probably reclaim your own bed. You know, unless Poe is volunteering to share.”  
   
Poe answered Finn’s call for backup by waggling his eyebrows playfully.  
  
 “Not that the offer isn’t open, but Finn’s right. How are you going to get your roommate on board?”  
   
Rey eyed them suspiciously before moving to the matter at hand.  
   
“I can’t waltz in and announce that I’ve changed genders in 12 hours, can I?” Rey asked. “I wish I could be honest with him. It feels wrong to live with someone for a year, lying to them everyday.”  
   
“If you had a decent guy as a roommate I would say another ally would be great, because you are going to need all the help you can get to keep up with this story. Unfortunately, that guy didn’t exactly look like the understanding type. If he blows your cover, you are right back to square one. Probably even further behind, since you could argue that impersonating a guy in a men’s dormitory is breaking quite a few rules,” Finn reasoned.  
   
“Still, it doesn’t feel right.”  
  
“Does losing your scholarship feel right?” Finn asked. “Because you can’t trust him.”  
  
From his sprawled-out position on the bed, Poe shot up like a vampire out of a crypt. “What if you had a brother? A twin? Pretend you got your room assignment cards swapped at check-in or something?”  
   
“Okay, that might actually fly,” Finn nodded, lips pressed together in concentration.  
   
“So I have a twin and we mixed up our rooms? It’s plausible. Am I believable as a guy though? Don’t you two need to teach me how to ‘Be a Man’ and all?”  
   
“What do you want?” Poe drawled, “A martial arts training session led by a shirtless dude with a man bun? Mysterious as the darkside of the moon and all that? Honey, I ain’t singing.“  
   
“Fuck that toxic masculinity bullshit!” Rey and Poe both looked over at Finn, jocular grins sliding off their faces. He had turned away, so only his profile was visible, but the fist that they could see was clenched and a muscle worked at his temple. “The only thing that makes a man a man is how he identifies. Jakku is backwater and conservative, the school only considers what’s legally documented, but you don’t have to change who you are to be a man. If you keep your bits covered and your story straight, as far as anyone else is concerned you are what you say.”  
   
After a thoughtful pause Poe said, “You are absolutely right.”  
  
***  
 Rey took a deep breath, sent up a prayer to any deity that happened to be listening, and pushed the door open.  
  
“What happened to your hair?” The corded biceps and forearms paused in the middle of putting up a band poster of a skull superimposed over a pattern of stars.  
  
“My hair? I mean, it’s always been like this. Have we-have we met? I’m Rey, good to meet’cha brother,” Rey internally cringed. Even her imaginary brother sounded like a dork.  
  
“Where’s the girl?” Another curt question lobbed from over a thickly muscled shoulder.  
  
“Oh, uh, you mean my sister? My twin? I guess you already met her. Our names are pretty similar and the administration must have swapped our room assignments by accident,” she finished lamely.  
  
“What’s her name?”  
  
Again with the 20 questions.  
  
“Rey. I mean, my name is Rey too. She’s Rey... Anne? Reyanne. I can’t believe anyone names their twins Rey and Reyanne, am I right?”  
  
“Parents,” the embodiment of the strong silent type shook his head and went back to adjusting his poster. Looking over his shoulder, he asked, “Straight?”  
  
Rey flushed from the tip of her nose to the tops of her ears. “That’s a bit of a personal question when you haven’t even told me your name yet! But I am. Straight I mean.”  
  
Ren finally met her eyes through his mess of black hair, full lips twisted in amusement, “The poster.”  
  
Rey nodded, too mortified to form words. Satisfied with his decorating, he jumped off his perch at the head of his bed.  
  
Turning to face her fully, he extended a hand, “Kylo Ren.”  
  
Not having fully appreciated his size before, Rey took in how she barely came up to his shoulder. If she stepped closer, he could tuck her under his chin effortlessly, and she wondered what the tattoo peeking out from the edge of his sleeve looked like. Rey realized she had zoned out for a second, and quickly shoved her hand into his, gripping as hard as she could in an effort to be extra manly. Mr. Rey Niima was far too manly to be thinking about tucking his head under his roommate’s chin or running his fingers down the lines of his tattoo. Far too manly to be audibly gulping as Kylo turned and yanked the shirt over his head in one fluid motion.  
  
“It’s getting late. I’m going to catch a shower before crashing.”  
  
Rey made some sort of squeak to indicate she heard him, then took advantage of the empty room to scramble into basketball shorts and a loose shirt. Quickly making the bed, she jumped in and rammed her eyes shut as Kylo wandered back in with a towel around his waist. Glancing over at his seemingly asleep roommate, Kylo flipped off the overhead lights and dropped the towel in the glow of his desk lamp. Bending to rummage in the bottom shelf of his dresser, Rey got quite the eyeful when she peaked again.  
  
DEAR GOD that is a great view, she thought to herself.  
  
Rey quickly shut her eyes again when she realized she was the peeping tom in this scenario. She had dealt with too many pervs in her life to become one. Turning to face the wall, she blushed in the dark and willed herself to sleep.  
  
After years of living in questionable foster care situations, sleeping lightly came natural to Rey. It was no surprise then that an extra loud snore of Kylo’s forced her wide awake, staring at the harsh red glow of his alarm clock announcing 4:17 am. Knowing that she wouldn’t get back to sleep, she decided to make use of the time when nobody else would be up and moving.  
  
Rey breathed a sigh of relief that the community bathroom was yet unoccupied. She cranked the tap as far right as it would go and let the scalding water fill in the cracks she had been finding in her plan.  
  
She dressed in the narrow shower stall, which required feats of flexibility hear-to unknown and a few odd hops to avoid trailing the leg of her jeans on the wet floor. Quietly shuffling back into the room, the band of streetlight streaming through the window glinted off of a pair of onyx eyes.  
  
“Sorry to wake you,” she grunted.  
  
“You’re up early,” he mumbled, dragging one enormous hand down his face.  
  
“Yeah,” she muttered, casting around for some excuse. “I like to get in an early run to clear my head.”  
  
“Can I come with you tomorrow? I could use a clear head.”  
  
Who was this and what have they done with Rey’s bad boy roommate? The man in the bed across the room from her sounded... almost vulnerable. Rey agreed before she realized what she agreed to. She was going to get up at 4 am tomorrow and go for a run with a man whose legs were a foot longer? Great way to start the year. New school year resolution number one: think before you speak.  
  
With no other excuse to loiter in the room now that Kylo thought she was a morning person, she slung her backpack across her back and set out in quest of anything resembling breakfast she could get her hands on.  
  
Stumbling into The Resistance, a local coffee shop, she ordered a Black Leader with soy. She settled in and pulled up the campus bookstore's website. No time like the present to order textbooks, now that the syllabuses were all posted. Running a finger down her list, she selected every book, recommended reading, and CliffsNotes booklet she thought she might need for the semester. Not too hard, she thought. Clicking on 'My Shopping Cart' her jaw dropped.  
  
$1492.23? That was more than her flight cost! She didn't have that kind of money! Grudgingly, she removed all of the suggested readings and extras from the list, reasoning that she would go to the library for those. Rey also changed each book condition from 'new' to 'Used - Acceptable'. What's a little highlighting and underlining compared to eating regularly? She braced herself and closed her eyes as she clicked into the cart again. $684.19? That was still outrageous. It was practically all the money she had left in her savings. Sighing, she finalized the purchase and settled down to enjoy her mocha as it looked like it would be the last indulgence she could afford for a while.  
  
She pondered the dregs of her drink despondently.  
  
"What is it? Relationship, grade, or money? Because I know my coffee isn't that bad."  
  
Rey looked up, startled, into a pair of large blue eyes, a little crinkly at the corners and magnified by thick glasses. A short, but rather spry old lady peered out from her horn-rimmed glasses. Her expression was soft and warm, with a glint of mischief. Wiping one wizened and knobbly hand down the edge of her apron, the woman held out a hand.  
  
"Maz Kanata."  
  
It took Rey a second to realize she was gaping and had yet to respond, "Rey Niima."  
  
"Rey Niima, I have lived long enough to see the same eyes in different people. I have seen your eyes before. Whatever is troubling you child, it will soon pass."  
  
Rey found herself strangely comfortable with the cafe owner, as her name tag identified her.  
  
"Money," Rey chimed glumly. "I knew college was expensive, but textbooks really get pricey, you know?"  
  
Maz examined her out of the corner of her eye, "What are you going to do? Ask family for money? Get a school loan?"  
  
"I'm an international student, so federal student loans are out. I don't have the credit or cosigner for a private loan and family... isn't an option," Rey said softly.  
  
Her companion nodded solemnly, taking the other seat at the table, "Then what will you do?"  
  
"I'll get a job. Two if I have to! I'm a quick learner and will do anything honest. Maybe the library has an opening for a part timer," Rey mused.  
  
As if her suspicions were confirmed, Maz nodded once to herself before sweeping to her feet once more.  
  
"Rey, you should pick up a few shifts here this week. It doesn't have to be a permanent arrangement if you don't want it, but my closer just up and left me in the lurch right as the semester started. It would be a big help. What do you say?"  
  
A new spark of hope lit in Rey's eyes, "Are you serious? Yes! Thank you so much Maz!"  
  
“When can you start?’  
  
Slamming her laptop shut, she packed up her bag and walked to the back of the shop, snagging an apron off the line of hooks in the hall.  
  
“Now.”  
  
*********  
  
Collapsing into the thin mattress, Rey shut her eyes and took inventory of everything that was hurting. Pretty much everything was the consensus.  
  
Across the room, a dramatic sigh escaped her roommate. Tearing off his headphones and chucking the Xbox controller onto the desk, he snarked, “You smell like the dumpster behind Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Like Cookie Monster’s hangover breath. Take a fucking shower.”  
  
He dragged his attention from the replay of his character’s death and ran his eyes over her. The t-shirt she selected at random at the butt crack of dawn was sweaty with exertion, sticking to her flat abs. The sunlight pouring in from the open window pooled in the honey gold flecks in her hair. Rey was too tired to look up and so she didn’t notice the way he worked the corner of his mouth before furrowing his brow, shaking his head like he could shake thoughts out.  
  
Rey shrugged. A full day of blending gallons of mocha-choca-bullshit for entitled college students, ending in a mishap involving a blender and an open bottle of chocolate sauce, certainly lent one to reeking like old candy and desperation. Thankfully, Maz had been understanding, helping her wipe the sticky mess from every surface in a six foot radius. There are worse ways to smell, she decided. Kylo, however, disagreed.  
  
“Seriously, you stink like gummy bear farts. Like Mike and Ike and the Doublemint Twins had an orgy. If the Starbucks mermaid and a Swedish Fish had a bastard love child, its diapers would smell like you. Get. Out.”  
  
“Alright, alright Kylo. I’m getting out. Keep your hair on!”  
  
Huffing, he slammed the headphones back over his protruding ears.  
  
Rey had to give it to him; He was an asshole, but at least he was an asshole with a sense of humor. She also needed to avoid making waves and calling her scholarship into question. Not wanting to annoy her roommate any more than she already had, she gathered up what she needed and trudged to the showers.  
  
While toweling off, she worked her fingers through her short hair, hoping to avoid having to style it again. Her eyes fluttered shut, imagining a larger hand working out the knots in her shoulders, running long fingers through her hair. His dark gaze intense as he leaned in closer to... Whoa. Wow, she had a long day at work. Her roommate just spent five minutes vividly describing how she smelled like a Care Bear’s latrine and her mind went straight to sex?  
  
The human mind is a terrifying thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to kylandadragan for being a sounding board for ideas and the wonderful verchu for beta reading this chapter. I appreciate both your time and effort so much. These two exceptional beings are also authors on AO3, so you should go check out their work!
> 
> Side note: Kylo's poster is the cover of Avenged Sevenfold's The Stage album. 
> 
> Please please please comment! I cherish every single comment that comes through my inbox and it always brightens my day. Drop me a line to let me know how you liked the chapter.


	4. The Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything goes to hell in a hand basket, or the chapter where everyone has an argument.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody's happy, everyone needs a hug. 
> 
> Please check the updated tags, this chapter discusses topics that may be a trigger for some readers. If you are unsure or would like a version of the chapter without the concerning content, please reach out to me directly.

Rey didn’t want to examine it too closely, because the realization that her life suddenly had two new recurring cast members was nothing short of terrifying. For longer than she can remember, she has always been the one to leave first. To walk away. To cut ties before the other person had the chance to beat her to it. Everyone always left in the end, so it was best to get it over with on her terms. Maybe, she lied to herself, it made it hurt a little less. 

Surprising herself, Rey found that she wanted to run head first towards this new familiarity. Poe and Finn were like no other relationship she had ever experienced. They seemed to like her the way she was, even when she pulled them into the chaos of her life. Instead of fighting against the waves of her headstrong decisions, they dove in willingly, swimming to keep up with her currents. They didn’t watch her newest debacle unfurl with growing horror, they aided and abetted the latest in a life-long line of questionable decisions. They also felt safe in a way; Rey had a hard time being around men since… since. But Poe and Finn were almost a part of her, and she didn’t fear their thoughts, words, or presence.

Rey was still a little in awe of the comfort surrounding them when she met the pair for dinner at the dining hall down the block. Finn and Poe had Rey in stitches with stories of all the bizarre clubs they had seen at the club fair put on to recruit the freshmen. 

“I’m not shitting you! Quidditch! They have two full teams who get together and play, holding a broom between their legs the entire time!” Finn said with a not a little curiosity. 

“Wait, wait! Like Harry Potter?” Rey chuckled.

“Yeah! I dunno about playing personally, but they were pretty serious about it. Apparently there are intercollegiate matches and everything! Not to mention there were a couple of cuties on the team,” Poe said with a wink.

“You said the exact same thing about the Engineering Department’s BattleBots team!” Finn exclaimed.

“And I meant it too!” Poe insisted. “Something about a sweaty dude with a mask and a blowtorch really butters my biscuit, ya know?”

“Didn’t realize you were gay,” Rey remarked.

“I’m bi. I just like what I like, you know?”

“Oh. Uh, you are?” Finn asked sheepishly. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Definitely doesn’t bother me that you are my roommate, not that I would have any right to be bothered. And it’s, like, none of my business at all really. I mean, good for you? Yeah. Anyone want anything from the dessert bar?” Finn left without waiting for a response.

Poe stared at the empty chair where Finn had just been sitting, before clearing his throat and extolling the virtues of Tri-Beta, the biology honor society, and their legendary house parties. Something about a few botany-minded individuals growing rare varieties of hops and turning them over to the chemistry club for brewing the occasional keg, unofficially of course. His eyes were still glassy when he walked Rey to her room, Finn having texted that he had to run to the student health center, because there was a problem with his meningitis vaccine paperwork. With so many students in a small space, the administration took immunizations very seriously. They wouldn’t let him into class the next day without clearing it up. Rey personally thought it was a bit late in the evening for the Quack Shack to be sending out vaccine reminders.

Rey and Poe walked slowly back to the dorm, appreciating the expectant tension in the air. Classes started the next day and it was as if the campus itself held its breath. The library was eerily empty and only the occasional student hustled by with last minute school supplies. Rey listened to Poe’s entirely one sided debate about the pros and cons of wearing a polo for the first day, his choice of topic unknowingly pressed on an old wound. 

A slow and shaky breath escaped her and she opened her eyes. The first bell of her first day of secondary school hadn’t even rung yet and she was ready to climb back into the van to the group home. She had been looking forward to the day, organizing and reorganizing her scented erasers in the glittery pencil case she received from the school supply drive. 

She had been sitting at an empty table in the cafeteria, admiring the effect of the glitter under the fluorescent lighting, waiting for the warning bell to get to class, when they showed up. Plucking at her three buns, the frayed sleeves of her too-big jumper, the worn rucksack that had seen her through a lot in elementary school, they were merciless in their teasing. She wound up being lectured by the foster home caretaker for being late to class on the very first day at her new school, but she would rather bear the disappointment and frustration than admit to anyone she spent most of first period crying in the bathrooms.

Her first day of university was just like in middle school, Rey didn’t have anything special or new as a first day of school outfit. It seemed like an unnecessary expense after having paid off her flight and purchasing textbooks. She assumed she would pull out whatever clean shirt and jeans that were the least torn and she didn’t mind telling Poe so. Apparently, this was completely unacceptable. Poe nearly dragged her back to the room he shared with Finn to rectify the situation immediately.

Clearly a bit of a clothes horse, Poe brought his entire extensive wardrobe with him to college. Luckily for Rey, that included a few shirts left over from before he found his passion for free weights. He fished for a stack of shirts in the back of the bottom draw of his dresser. A quick heat spread across the apples of her cheeks as Rey thought of another guy she knew who had been searching the bottom drawer of his dresser. 

She paused as she realized that Poe, while objectively gorgeous and the proud owner of an undeniably great ass, didn’t quite have the same effect on her. Instead of a flicker of attraction quickly drowned in a tidal wave of mortification, she regarded Poe’s physique the way she might notice hotel art; Pleasant enough to look at, but nothing that stirred up passion. Her renewed contemplation of yesterday’s Buttgate incident was interrupted by a pile of clothes hitting the side of her head.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Poe snickered. “Whoa those squats sure paid off! And yes, you can train with me. The right diet and a couple months of training and your gluteus can be maximus too!”

Rey rolled her eyes, willing her face to return to some semblance of a human color. She looked around the dorm room, peaking in the closet to see if there was enough space to use it as a fitting room. Not a walk-in closet, sadly. Acknowledging that if she walked to and from the bathroom for each outfit change they would never be done picking her clothes for the next day, Poe shrugged and turned around.

“Go on. Let me know when you’re decent.”

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of Poe’s Eye for the Not-Guy; He vetoed a comfy band shirt as too casual, a heather grey henley as too long, couple of pocketed button-ups as trying too hard. Finally, a deep blue shirt with a slight hint of a v-neck was deemed acceptable. Poe muttered something about the neckline making her shoulders look wider. Satisfied that she would not be accosted by the Fashion POE-lice the next day, and even more content with the cringe factor of her latest pun, Rey stripped off the shirt to swap it for the one she had been wearing. 

“So that’s how it is?” Finn accused.

She and Poe both looked up as the door to the room slammed shut. Finn’s eyes were as large as saucers, before narrowing to a dagger’s width. Shoving Rey’s approved first day of school outfit off of his bed, Finn acerbically spit out “If you have to fool around in our room, at least keep to Poe’s side.”

Rey pulled the ratty t-shirt she won in a radio giveaway back over her head, jamming her arms through the sleeves. Ignoring their combined protests, Finn turned his back to them and crammed earbuds in his ears. Poe and Rey communicated their confusion in the flick of eyebrows and shrugging shoulders, before she gathered up the extra shirts Poe gifted her and said goodnight. Finn still didn’t turn around and Rey found herself looking forward to the relative ease of her room shared with Kylo.

It was odd; Kylo didn’t bother her as much either. He was not nearly as safe as Finn and Poe, but Rey reasoned that she was a bit comfortable around Ren because he was consistent. A snarky, sarcastic asshole, but she had yet to have a reason to expect anything else. It was easy to deal with him, because he was what it said on the tin. 

***

She startled awake to two large hands encompassing her shoulders and a pair of obsidian eyes staring deep into her own. Rey screamed, using the torque from rotating her entire body to pack as much force behind her fist as possible. As she felt her punch connect with the delicate cartilage of his nose, she was already thinking two moves ahead. Her knee met the sensitive flesh between the tops of his thighs as she used the follow through from her punch to drive an elbow into the tender dip behind his jaw and below his ear. 

The man fell to his knees, one large, pale hand fruitlessly trying to stem the shockingly crimson spray issuing from a crooked nose, the other cupping between clenched legs. He still hemmed her in, kneeling between her and the door. She couldn’t sidle past without putting herself within arm’s reach of her attacker. No matter. Rey reached below the edge of the bed, grappling for a moment before her hand emerged with the familiar and comforting point of a knife making the threats she clearly could not voice. Rey’s whole body trembled violently, a muscle memory from nights past when she’d been unceremoniously shaken awake; In fact, the hand holding the weapon was the only part of her that did not quake, steady in its aim and intent. 

“Jesus, Rey,” a strained voice wheezed from behind a wall of black locks. She barely heard him over her heartbeat pounding in her ears and the shallow breaths rushing in and out of lungs that could barely contain them. He sounded… familiar? Giving up entirely on staying upright, the taughtly muscled figure collapsed onto the floor, the beginnings of a Jackson Pollock taking up more and more of the floor with every one of his forced exhales. 

Deeming him no longer a threat, her hindbrain released its control. Rey looked down at the man who had shaken her awake, taking stock of the new tilt in the beakish nose, the rust red Rorschach test that appeared when he peeled his face from the floor, interspersed with a smattering of freckles and moles that looked almost like-

“Kylo!” Rey exclaimed, lowering the point of her blade but not dropping her guard. “What the fuck?”

“Run,” he eked out.

“Are you fucking threatening me?” she demanded, her empty hand reaching for her phone. The police could deal with him, although it was probably less than he deserved.

“Morning. Run,” he huffed. 

The cogs slowly turned in her adrenaline addled head and she swiftly recalled a half-hearted agreement to go for a 4 am jaunt with her roommate. It still didn’t explain him touching her, though.

“And you felt the need to grab me, why?” she spat.

“Slept. Alarm. Wake-up?” he gasped, coughing up a little blood that had been trickling down his throat.

“Not possible. I have been a light sleeper since…” Rey trailed off. 

Regaining the ability to breath, Kylo pulled himself up enough to let his shoulders slump against the frame of his bed. Still facing her, he took a slow and shaky breath before letting it all out at once. 

“You slept through your alarm going off for five minutes,” he started quietly. “I called your name and tapped your arm and you didn’t respond. I thought something was wrong with you.”

Rey doesn’t remember the last time she slept through the night, let alone an alarm. She scoffed, unconvinced by his little show of concern. 

“It’s true. Your phone passcode is 1234. I guessed it when I was trying to shut the damn thing off.” Here, Kylo met her eyes once more. “Most people use an important date, like their birthday, but I wasn’t sure when yours is.”

“Neither am I,” she muttered bitterly. 

His eyes impossibly wide, he winced either in pain or sympathy. Chewing the inside of his lip, Kylo let silence fall between them once more. Unable to process that she had stayed asleep in the face of a possible threat, like a fool, Rey busied herself with patching together the man sharing her room for the foreseeable future. She hoped he wouldn’t bring this to the attention of the RA, because she really didn’t need any more attention calling her scholarship into question. She also found that a tiny part of her felt a bit bad for thrashing him so thoroughly; Another little part was pretty smug about it. Handing him a thick towel, she instructed him to blow his nose hard. Scoffing at his hesitation, she kneeled between his splayed legs to get a better view of the damage.

“Your nose is badly broken. Unless you want a doctor to break it and reset it, I’m going to have to straighten it now.”

Eyes wide with panic, he leaned back against the bed rails, keeping his face as far from her as possible. 

“Don’t be a baby. It will only hurt worse if you wait. Trust me, I’ve done this before.”

Inching closer, Rey gently laid her hands on either side of Kylo’s nose. He hissed in pain, but didn’t flinch, eyes locked on his roommate kneeling between his knees. 

“Breathe in deeply and I will straighten it up. It only hurts for a bit and it’s better than having to get it rebroken, I promise.”

Biting his pouting lower lip, his chest expanded, his large shoulders pulled wide. Acting quickly, Rey firmly stroked her hands down his nose, carefully realigning it. The worst was over. He would look like hell for a week or so, but at least he wouldn’t be stuck with an uneven face. Pulling out of her reverie, she found her hands still resting on either side of Kylo’s face, his pupils wide in shock and something else she couldn’t quite identify. His breathing stopped entirely, before restarting at a frenzied pace. 

Realizing she was still intimately close, Rey fell back from sitting on her haunches, butt hitting the ground firmly before scrambling up. In need of any excuse to get the hell out of the room fast, she grabbed her running shoes and was halfway out the door before she turned back to survey the damage left in her wake. 

“I’m sorry,” she started hesitantly. “I’m sorry, but just… don’t do that again.”

Surveying his position, looking a little lost, Kylo’s eyes found Rey running away again. His unspoken concern glanced off Rey’s hardened expression that screamed she didn’t need his pity. Yanking blood soaked clumps of hair away from his face, Kylo’s countenance turned stormy.

“Believe me, I won’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I have to make a disclaimer here: I promise Finn isn't homophobic, he's working through some personal stuff and it's coming out of his mouth in the WORST way possible. All will be made clear in future chapters and he will be suitably contrite.
> 
> This fic runs on comments and kudos. If you like it, let me know!


	5. A Pair of Pretty Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo is maimed, Rey is blamed, Poe declaimed, Finn's ashamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @vvhenan for beta reading this chapter!

Chapter 5

With a prologue like that, Rey felt that the rest of the first day of classes would be a cake walk in comparison. She was relieved to find their room uninhabited when she got back from actually taking the run like she said. Not knowing how long he might be gone, she grabbed her rucksack and headed to class a bit early; She didn’t feel ready to speak to Kylo just yet.

Rey’s first class, English 1301, was uneventful. The professor took attendance and read the syllabus. The textbook, she insisted, was not optional. Wait a minute, Rey thought to herself, there was a chance it was optional? After the class got out early, she picked up lunch and wandered over to the engineering building. Made up entirely of jagged angles and sharply reflective surfaces, it stood out among the traditional red brick, white columned fare that made up the rest of the campus. Thinking she might stake a claim to a good seat for the semester, Rey hovered outside the lecture hall until the previous session let out. 

Swinging her bag over her shoulder, Rey followed a dignified older gentleman into the room. He was dressed in a pressed but threadbare suit, nearly bald, and sporting an expression that could only be described as mischievous. Writing his name in block letters on the board, Dr. Force introduced himself as the Intro to Engineering professor. He informed the class filing in that out of the desire to be ruthlessly efficient in taking attendance, seats for the semester would be assigned in sequential order by student ID number. He took out a deck of index cards with each of their ID numbers and paced up and down each aisle, placing a card at each seat, emphasizing that they best remember which seat was theirs or be marked absent in the future. Satisfied that he could now take attendance for all 127 students in the Introduction to Engineering class with minimal effort, Dr. Force prepared for his review of the syllabus and expectations. 

Looking around, Rey was satisfied with the arrangement. She was seated in an aisle seat a couple rows from the front and the assigned occupant of the chair next to her was nowhere to be found. 

As the projector flickered on over the professor’s shoulder, one last student stomped into the classroom and a hush fell over the hall, immediately followed by a torrent of whispers. A few of the more hysterical students gasped at the double black eyes sported by the imposing figure. He didn’t react to the sentiment, but the annoyed gleam in his eye turned nearly murderous as he noted the location of the only available seat. 

Glancing at the card with his student ID number on the desk next to her, Kylo folded himself into the desk. It was nearly comical how he stretched his legs and hunched his back to fit into the tight spot. Not meeting her eyes, he proceeded to construct a tower of his belongings between them. He propped his textbook up with his shoulder bag and hunched a bit more until Rey couldn’t see his expression even if she wanted to, (which, she forcefully reminded herself, she didn’t). 

When Rey first saw the extent of his bruises under the harsh fluorescent lighting, she wanted to bolt out of the room. He looked like shit-show and, judging by his expression, he knew it. Rey had been teased and made fun of all her life; Nobody deserved it on the first day of school. It was her fault this brooding young man would spend the first week of his college career being feared or ridiculed. She was mortified.

Kylo was in for a rude awakening if he thought he could cash in on those sympathies. His building the Great Wall of Pettiness didn’t just murder Rey’s regret and compassion; it poured cement around the feet of her feelings and chucked them into the nearest body of water. Didn’t he see that she hadn’t meant to hurt him? Didn’t he notice she was scared out of her mind? How could he blame her? You know what, she thought. Fine. You want to go there, Kylo? Let’s go there.

She did her best to ignore the sulking mountain of a man next to her and the whispers of their neighbors ranging from speculation regarding the state of his opponent to girls murmuring their appreciation for the bad boy types. Ok, she rolled her eyes at that last one, but it wasn’t like Kylo could see it.

The real problem started three quarters of the way through the syllabus. In another of Dr. Force’s “efficiencies,” he announced lab partners would be assigned as well. As director of all the lab assistants, it was his duty to submit each pair’s final grades. If the lab partners were right next to each other in the gradebook, it made his hour of data entry that much easier. Short of death or court order, he chuckled darkly, no reassignments would be made. 

Strolling the length of the classroom, he instructed the occupants of every other column of seats to turn to their left and greet their new lab partners. Rey’s face froze in shock as she slowly turned counter clockwise in her seat, locking onto the pair of bruised eyes and raised eyebrows she could barely see over the top of Engineering Basics, 9th Edition. 

Shit.

She had to live with him, sit next to him in class, and be lab partners, all without him figuring out that she was a girl? Couldn’t she catch a break? For his part, he looked pissed off at Force’s work. Or, at least, the top half of his face looked pissed off. Whatever, he was the one being ridiculous. Rey had apologized, hadn’t she? 

Dr. Force instructed the lab partners to swap phone numbers with a smirk.

“Your lab partner should be your first resource for missed notes.” Dr. Force said, the edge in his voice hinting at the displeasure one would earn if they asked him for anything they could get from another student. “You will also work on a group project that will determine your course grade for the lab portion of the class.“ 

At that, Rey found a pale forearm thrusting the latest iPhone at her from around Kylo’s backpack blockade. Rolling her eyes again, she entered her information and texted herself.

Rey and Kylo found themselves walking back in the direction of the dorm together after class let out. As soon as the realization struck him, Kylo took advantage of his longer stride and picked up the pace, adding to the distance between them. Refusing to jog to keep up with her petulant roommate, Rey walked on. After all, she lived with him. She’d see him later.

By the time the heavy dorm room door swung shut behind her, Kylo’s backpack and gym bag had swapped places and there was no other sign of his presence. Not sure if she was glad to avoid him or not, she texted Finn and Poe to head to her room; she needed to talk the latest developments through with her own personal shoulder angel and devil. 

Poe turned up right away, a box of Monsters tucked under one arm and a stack of DVDs in the other hand. He settled in for the long haul, citing the need to see this mystery roommate no matter how long it took. Refusing to tell the same convoluted story twice, Rey texted Finn again and they settled in to watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Poe was indignant that she had never seen it before.

“It’s a classic, Rey! You have to have seen it at least once!”

“Nope,” she insisted. “If it wasn’t Disney, it wasn’t at the group home. The foster family before that… Didn’t let me watch TV.”

Poe began his TED Talk on the many ways the film was iconic, gesturing wildly with the remote as the movie went on. Rey was grateful that, although he noticed her face fall at the mention of her foster family, he didn’t comment on it. 

As the police took Jeanie in for prank calling, Finn turned up, ducking his head shyly and holding out a pizza peace offering.

The tension between him and Poe was immediate as they made eye-contact for the first time since the previous day’s misunderstanding. After a long pause, something unspoken shifted between them. Poe grinned as he made a sandwich out of two slices of pizza and the strain eased out of Finn’s shoulders. Rey took advantage of the guys’ silence as they shoveled food in their mouths to catch them up on her latest roommate shenanigans.

“So you’re telling me that not only did he not say a word about your ‘transformation’, but he let you beat the crap out of him and didn’t even try to fight back?” Finn asked incredulously. “I call bullshit. He could snap you like a twig, Peanut. No offense.”

“Are you sure you aren’t exaggerating?” Poe asked hesitantly. “Not saying you aren’t tough, but it takes a lot to break someone’s nose. You also said it was dark and early in the morning. Could you have maybe just bloodied it a bit?”

Rey opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by Kylo slamming the door shut behind him. His hair was still wet from the gym’s shower and his face looked no better than it did earlier in the day. 

Poe let out a low whistle. “Damn, Rey. You really did get him good.”

Rey flinched as Kylo fixed her with a chilling glare. Hoping to avoid adding further insult to injury, she shepherded the guys from the room with the promise to text them later. After they left, Rey flitted around picking up the pizza box and empty soda cans. 

As she moved to turn off the movie, Kylo mumbled, “Wait.”

She looked up, sure that she misheard him. 

“It’s the best scene. Wait a minute,” he whispered.

They sat in silence as Cameron vented his heartbreak on the Ferrari’s hood.

“Who do you love! Who do you love? You love a car!” Kylo whispered along with Alan Ruck’s character.

Without meaning to, they watched the rest of the movie together. As the credits rolled, their moment of companionship flickered out. Kylo turned away, jamming on his headphones and powering up his console. Rey just shrugged and got ready for bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of Rey and Kylo's moment? Any Ferris Bueller fans out there?
> 
> If you liked it, be sure to give kudos and comments. They warm my soul. 
> 
> I also have Tumblr (Kylohhh). Feel free to stop by and say hi!


	6. The Silence of the Lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Rey and Kylo barely cooperate as lab partners, she and Finn make terrible dietary choices, and Leia Organa arrives on the scene.

Not speaking with your lab partner was turning out to be easier than she thought. They quietly went through the steps in the assignment on their own, silently waiting their turn for the shared equipment. Even with the extra time spent performing the experiment twice, they were done well before the end of the period. Rey perched on the stool on the opposite side of the workbench, as far from her partner as she could get. 

As she doodled on the margins of her lab notebook, a soft smile played on her face. Stylized swallows swooped across the edges of the page, tucked between intricately detailed sketches of ring winged planes and bubbly cartoon paper airplanes. At the end of the class, the lab assistant’s voice snapped her out of her reverie.

“Be sure to turn in only one copy of your completed assignment per team as you head out,” the graduate student reminded them yet again. 

Rey looked up at Kylo, raising an inquiring eyebrow and gesturing at the stack of notebooks piled haphazardly on the table closest to the door. His nostrils flared as his gaze scraped down the side of her papers. Shaking his head, he walked towards the door with his notebook outstretched, getting in line behind a girl with a flared bob haircut and bangs. 

“Wait! We aren’t even going to discuss this?” Rey huffed. “I have to get an A in this class. What if we got different answers?”

“Then your answers are wrong,” he deadpanned. 

Snatching the book from his grasp, she slapped the two on the workbench side by side and began running a pointer finger down the left side of each page. Kylo hovered, arms crossed and leaning with his back against the table. They had the same answers on the front page, so she flipped them over.

She was interrupted by the frazzled lab assistant insisting that she had another class to teach on the opposite side of the building and would they just turn something, anything, in. Rey’s eyes narrowed as she plunked her copy of the report, doodles and all, onto the enormous stack in the assistant’s arms. Kylo glared at Rey and set his immaculate workbook on top of hers, challenging her to object. 

“You know what? Fine. Why listen to me? What do I know? At least you have something turned in,” the put-upon grad student mumbled as she ushered them out and locked the lab behind her. 

***  
It was the first time in two weeks that the trio hadn’t had what Finn jokingly called “family dinner” together. Poe was off at a student government interest meeting and wouldn’t be able to make it. Rey and Finn took full advantage of his absence by adhering to their North Beach diet - all carbs - without Poe there to wheedle and extort them to eat literally anything resembling a vegetable. They settled into their cheery orange plastic cafeteria seats before tucking into their Frankenstein pasta-bar creations. Rey cackled to herself as she stirred a cauldron of tortellini covered in alfredo and marinara to form her favorite ‘pink’ sauce, while Finn was wolfing down bowtie pasta piled high with parmesan cheese, Italian sausage, meatballs, and pepperoni. 

As she surfaced from her bowl and patted her belly with an appreciative burp, she watched the effects of a carb coma settling in Finn’s face. He sighed contentedly and leaned back in his chair, expression relaxed and eyes glazed like jelly donuts. After a few moments of looking at their empty plates fondly, the two decided to get down to the real purpose of family dinners: gossip.

Finn and Poe were back to getting along. There had been a little residual weirdness after movie night, but it had since faded. They hadn’t spent much time together in the last couple of days as Finn’s ROTC participation requirements started up and Poe found a new club to try at every turn. Rey dutifully updated him on the developments of their first lab together, not leaving out the tiff over who’s lab report got submitted. 

Finn was outraged that anyone could believe that their lab work came close to comparison with his Peanut’s artistically graced workbook; He had rewritten an entire page of English notes so he could cut out the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka she had drawn diving down the page and stick it on his bulletin board. While doubting that her artistic ability was the key merit of her workbook, she agreed that Ren should give up on trying to make her play second fiddle in the lab. 

“I’m an engineering major!” She whined. “He should be glad to get credit for all of my hard work! I need to do well in all the sciences to get into graduate school, not to mention keep up my GPA for my scholarship. Why can’t he just sit down and shut up?” Finn nodded emphatically.

“What is his major, anyways?”

Rey paused in the middle of her rant. She chewed her lip as she looked up at the ceiling, her mental Rolodex spinning at light speed. 

“Well, he’s in my Intro to Engineering course. He has an English textbook and he was making flash cards in a different language last night…” She trailed off, realizing how startlingly little she knew about the man that shared her room at night. 

“So you’ve lived together for two weeks and you don’t know his major? Seriously? I mean, I know he’s a jerk and all, but don’t you guys talk, like, ever? It’s practically the first thing people say, apart from their name,” Finn’s incredulity ratcheted up with every mention of Kylo. “I mean, I probably said ‘hi my name is Finn and I’m a military science major’ a hundred times last week. What do you know about this guy?”

Rey’s heel tapped against the chair leg and she picked at her cuticles to avoid meeting his eye. 

“He likes music, I think? I’m pretty sure his poster is from a band. He also plays a lot of Call of Duty.”

“Congratulations, Rey,” Finn crowed. “You’ve just described every guy ever. You would be the most useless eye witness in the world. I can see it now! Well officer, he was between 4’2” and 7’1”, had a face, two eyes, and I’m not certain, but I seem to recall two feet as well!”

“You can’t put all the blame on me,” she huffed. “It’s not like we braid each other’s hair and read our Lisa Frank diaries out loud every night.”

“I’m not saying you need to make each other friendship bracelets, just make a basic level of conversation. For example, I’m pretty sure I know more about the barista that was working with you at The Rebellion yesterday than you know about your roommate. The two of you need to stop the silent treatment routine; It’s ridiculous.” 

Rey nodded. Finn was right, not speaking to the person she spent half her time with was a bit ridiculous. They didn’t have to make each others’ lives easier, but they shouldn’t be making this year harder. She thought about all of the things she didn’t know about him as she walked back to her dorm. What was his major? Why was he taking engineering? Did he just like the color black or was he still stuck in his emo phase? Seriously, she thought pretty much everything he owned, clothes included, were black. What about his family? Do they have huge family dinners with all his sibling raucously shouting to be heard or was he an orphan like her? When did he-

Her train of thought slid off the rails as she opened the door and realized that there was a third person in their room. The hulking mass of her roommate was firmly planted in his computer chair, arms folded, and eyes lit with a barely restrained violence. He bit down on the inside of his lip fiercely, as if holding himself back from saying something unforgivable. The object of his ire was a woman with crossed arms and ramrod straight bearing.

What the hell is his problem, she thought to herself. The fact that this tiny woman wasn’t slowly backing up towards the door was certainly a credit to her bravery. Rey thought she might even be tempted to run if Kylo ever looked at her like that. He was ginormous and didn’t look like the type of guy she wanted to cross… Oh, wait, she had already done that…

Rey was saved from that particular rabbit hole of thoughts by the older lady turning to face the sound of the door shutting. Being the same height standing as Kylo’s seated form didn’t take away from the scowl to rival her roommate’s. Scratch that, Rey thought, this lady is way scarier than Kylo. Her dark hair touched with grey was coiled into an intricate updo and the dark pantsuit she sported gave her an air of authority. There was something familiar about her, but Rey couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Nostrils flared and chin held up defiantly, this woman’s expression had Rey suddenly feeling the urge to apologize without knowing what exactly she had done wrong. 

After a few moments of silence, a professional demeanor snapped taught across the intruder’s face. With a forced smile, the woman reached out her hand. Bewildered, Rey realized a few seconds too late that she was meant to shake hands with the pint-sized force of nature who had Kylo snarling and snapping in the corner of the room. 

“Hello my dear,” the enigma chimed. “I’m Leia. I’m Ben’s mom.” 

Rey was too busy trying to reconcile the warm smile she was being treated to with the furious glare she had witnessed moments ago to hear the warning bells sounding in the back of her brain.

“Rey,” she stuttered, voice sounding more like a question than an answer. She held her hand out stiffly to the woman for a quick shake. 

“Get. Out.” Kylo’s chest heaved with each word. 

Leia quirked an eyebrow at her, before sweeping from the room with a promise to take them all out for lunch sometime to really get to know each other. 

Still staring after Leia as the door shut, she asked “Who was that?”

Kylo grunted and Rey swiveled to face him. Oh, right. He’s still looking murderous. Best not piss him off anymore, she thought. Ok, maybe just a little. It seemed like as good a time as any to start talking to him and get Finn of her back. 

“Who was that?” she repeated.

“Leia Organa,” he mumbled through the hand sliding up to cover his face. The bells in the back of her head were getting louder and the itch to know why she recognized Leia was getting stronger. 

“Who’s Ben?” She asked lightly.

“Her son,” he mumbled.

“Why was she here?” 

“I… know her son.”

“Why was she mad?”

The hand covering his face slammed down into a fist on the desk and the tension in his shoulders reached an all-time high. 

“When is she not mad? It’s always something. No matter what I- Ben does, it’s never good enough. She likes to come by and remind him how much of a disappointment he is. What he’s fucked up this time. She should just leave him alone.” 

“That’s not how a mother should act,” Rey said, shaking her head solemnly. 

“What would you know about it?” he hissed.

Rey sat in her desk chair, back to Kylo. She pulled her legs up underneath her and reached for her sketchbook.

“Nothing,” she whispered, pulling her headphones on. “Not a damn thing.”

She turned up her music, but she could have sworn she heard Kylo’s shaky exhale and the soft thunk of his forehead hitting the desk in defeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you liked this chapter, I would love to see your comments and kudos. Apologies for no update last weekend; Life happened. I'll make it up to you with an extra update sometime this week.
> 
> I also have Tumblr (@Kylohhh). Feel free to stop by and say hi!


	7. Fireflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo brings food and a foul mood, Rey brings sass and a poncho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the whole falling off the face of the Earth for a month thing. Please accept this update as a token of my affection.
> 
> A few reminders:  
> I had no beta for this chapter, so the mistakes are all mine. My knowledge of aeronautics is strictly limited to Google searches and Wikipedia pages. I'm sure I have made mistakes in that aspect as well, so please be kind.

The following week, Maz begged her to close Sunday and Monday nights. She apologized profusely, but she simply didn’t have anyone else who could pick up the shifts and couldn’t keep up with the evening study group rush alone. Students were starting to take their classes seriously as the first round of tests were coming up. Rey was also feeling the pressure to perform, spending more and more of her time studying. That meant spending less and less time watching the ancient British comedy reruns that got her through her time with Plutt with some semblance of sanity left. She would have to catch up with Mrs. Bucket and Mr. Humphries another day. 

 

Rey put her cup noodle and granola bar dinner in a grocery bag from the hoard in her cupboard. She grabbed the lanyard with her keys and ID card, and crouched to tie her trainers. Glancing at the time on her phone, she realized she needed to hustle if she didn’t want to be late. 

 

A low chuckle reverberated from the other side of the room.

 

Rey whipped around, body frozen in a statuesque pose with the hairbrush halfway to her head.  Scowling with as much ferocity as she could manage around the Poptart hanging out of her mouth, she swung her backpack over her shoulder as her eyes narrowed in on the smirk Kylo was fighting to hide. 

 

“In a rush?” he gasped, before relapsing into a choking growl Rey realized might be giggles. Giggling? Rey was stunned for a moment, her manic multitasking coming to a grinding halt. Everything about this guy made her brain itch like a formula she couldn’t solve. She couldn’t figure him out, she assumed that was why her eyes tracked him through labs and class. He was a leather jacket full of contradictions: Violence always simmering just beneath the surface, a spark away from boiling over, and soft, vulnerable whispers in the dark, barely hiding the raw scars of wounds that had never quite healed. 

 

Thoughts of soft and sharp and hard and warm tumbled around her head, before she realized she had been standing mute, staring at the enigma like he was a science experiment or a painting in a museum. Not that he was bad to look at, she mused. If anything, he was more of a sculpture, muscle and tendon hewn in marble skin. 

 

Judging from the quirk of his eyebrow and tilt of his lips, he knew the direction her thoughts were taking. A blush seeped from the apples of her cheeks and she haphazardly threw the brush at her bed with a brusque “Yes,” before fleeing the room. During her jog to The Resistance, Rey tried to sort out her thoughts. Now was not the time to catch feelings for Kylo. Being completely objective, she was surprised to discover that she could admit to finding him attractive without too much struggle. That was something anyone could see and it wasn’t like it was a personal merit of his. He was still an overgrown man-child. 

 

Breathing hard and fanning her face, she sped past Maz’ questioning smile and threw an apron over her clothes. Rey glanced up at the clock just as it hit 5 pm. Grinning at Maz triumphantly, she clocked in right on time, stepping up to the espresso machine. She fell into the rhythm of tamp, pull, pour, rinse, repeat. Nights like this were her favorite part of the job; no need to think, or worry, or feel. Rey could just be. 

 

Maz summoned her from her trance with a tap on the shoulder, peering over her glasses meaningfully as she said that a friend was here with dinner. Rey wiped her hands on her apron, sure that they agreed Finn was supposed to meet her for dinner the next day. Either way, she left her dinner at home in her rush to get out the door so it worked out perfectly. 

 

Her eyes swept the room and did a double-take as they met Kylo’s dark eyes and tentative smile. 

 

“You forgot your food,” he mumbled, staring at the air somewhere above Rey’s left ear. 

 

“That doesn’t look like ramen?” She lobbed a suspicious glance at the styrofoam takeout containers dwarfed by his large hands. The heady scent of spices poured from the twin white plastic bags that shouted ‘thank you’ over and over in bold red font.

 

“You eat garbage, but don’t expect me to,” he shrugged.

 

“I honestly didn’t expect anything from you.”

 

“If you don’t want it, I can leave,” he huffed, mouth working in an unreadable expression.

 

Not garbage turned out to be two orders of butter chicken with naan and samosa. She sniffed it suspiciously before tearing off a hunk of bread and dipping it into the sauce. Rey’s eyes lit up like the bars on Rebound as the rich gravy hit her tongue. They didn’t talk while they ate. Rather, Rey inhaled her food with gusto, every smack, chomp, and slurp conveying her satisfaction with the meal. She looked up from swiping up rice and gravy with a jagged bit of naan bread to catch Kylo’s scandalized expression as he primly forked a morsel of chicken. She grinned across the table, orange sauce smeared at the corner of her lip. There was always a first time for everything. 

 

Kylo looked on with the wide eyed stare, horror and concern playing tag across his expressive features. Rey couldn’t take the staring any longer. 

 

“Am I eating this wrong or something?” she asked around a massive bite of chicken.

 

“Technically, no? It’s traditional to use the bread like that. You’re eating it really enthusiastically? That’s all,” he mumbled. 

 

“S’ gud,” she said with her mouth full, shrugging one shoulder and tucking back into her food. 

 

Rey leaned back in her chair, eyes flitting unfocused at the ceiling, roughly knuckling sauce from her lips. Looking back down and catching Kylo’s concerned gaze for a second time, Rey was at a loss as to what the problem was. 

 

Sighing, she pulled out her wallet emblazoned with a blue and gold Vault Boy. 

 

“How much do I owe you?”

 

He glanced down at the meager couple of bills in her wallet and back up at her face. 

 

“Don’t worry about it,” he grunted.

 

“Uh, no. You brought me food, which you didn’t have to. I need to pay you back,” she insisted.

 

“It’s no big deal.” He gave her a half smile.

 

“I don’t want to owe you anything.”

 

The crinkles around his eyes and ghost of a smile evaporated. Now this was the Kylo she knew. 

 

“You don’t owe me anything. I bought it because I was craving Indian food and didn’t feel like eating alone. So there,” he huffed, arms crossed.

 

“Thank you.” 

 

His eyes softened and the corner of his mouth twitched. Rey looked down at the table, toying with the frayed hem of her t-shirt. She scrunched her eyebrows together as she wracked her brain for a topic. Finn’s exasperated face came to mind.

 

“So, uh, what’s your major?” Rey felt her face go beet red. God, she sounded like an idiot. 

 

“My major?” he parroted blankly. 

 

She wished she could run, hide. Hell, she’d begin work on a time machine as soon as she got home. Anything to avoid this. She glanced at the door. Too far for a get away. Looking up at the clock behind the till, she opened her mouth to mumble something about the end of her break. Before she could push the words out, Maz appeared out of nowhere with iced teas in to-go cups. Cheerfully waving away excuses, the old bat snatched up Rey’s abandoned apron and insisted she take the rest of the night off. Rey stuttered something in Kylo’s general direction before following Maz, words of protest already on her lips.

 

“The evening rush is over, child,” she said, peering over the tops of her coke-bottle glasses as she counted out Rey’s tips from the cash drawer. Her voice dropped lower, even though they were definitely out of earshot of Kylo. “You really helped me out by coming in today and this is my way of saying thank you. You and your friend go have fun. I remember what it was like to be young and have a crush.”

 

“I- he’s… and you...we… I’m a guy?” she sputtered.

 

Maz nodded gently towards the rainbow flag hung in the window, fluttering slightly as another student walked in, backpack slung over one shoulder. 

 

“You think that bothers me?” she asked gently, placing a hand on Rey’s shoulder. She turned to attend to the new customer and Rey stumbled back to Kylo. 

 

Their walk back towards the dorm started in companionable silence. Kylo loped forward with his back hunched over, hands in his pockets, and toes turned in a little with each step. Settling into an awkward skipping walk to keep up with her companion’s longer strides, one of Rey’s hands wrapped around her backpack strap in a vice grip. Although the calendar claimed it was fall, the evening brought with it a sultry heat and fireflies barrel rolled and looped into Kulbits like pilots embroiled in a dogfight of their own making.

 

A slow, rumbling roar of thunder was their only warning before a deluge forced them to seek shelter under the English building’s portico. After jiggling and prying and yanking at the handle, Kylo slammed a closed fist against the creaky old building’s locked front door. Startled, Rey looked up from digging through her backpack. The sudden downpour had plastered Kylo’s hair down, emphasizing the angles of his face; his sharp brow, cheekbones, and chin jutted out more prominently, as did his ears. 

 

_ Huh. Isn’t that funny?  _ she thought to herself. She’d never noticed he had big ears. She idly thought that must be why he didn’t pull his hair back in the lab, where he had utilized any number of odd neck pops and head shakes to get it out of his eyes mid-experiment.

 

“You don’t happen to have something to pick a lock with in that bag of junk?”

 

“I do not have junk!” she cried indignantly. Smiling smugly, she pulled out a heather grey wool poncho from her bag. She knew refreshing the waterproofing would come in handy. The poncho had served her well in the years since she found it in a thrift shop wedged into a London back alley. It kept her warm and dry, the hood covered her face when she tugged it down a bit, and most importantly made for a decent pillow or a blanket when she slept rough in her teens. Twirling the heavy fabric like the captain of the colorguard, she dove into it head-first. 

 

“Uh, I hate to break it to you, but your poncho is a piece of junk,” he sniggered, hiding a grin behind a large, calloused hand.

 

“At least I don’t look like a drowned rat!” she retorted, eyeing his ink black hair running in rivulets down his cheek. 

 

“Right. Drowned rat in a poncho is a much better look.”

 

“Uh, yeah. Given the choice, I’d rather be dry,” she grunted, eyes rolling and nostrils flared in frustration. There were more than a few nights she would have been overjoyed to have anything as warm as the wool wrapped around her. “I’d rather not do this right now.”

 

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Me too.”

 

They were quiet for a moment. Letting go of her frustration and getting lost in thoughts of the past, Rey trailed her fingers into a stream of water trickling down from the roof. She cupped her hand tightly, letting the water pool before relaxing just enough to feel it slip between her fingers. She smiled softly as she repeated the gesture over and over; holding the tiny ocean’s fate in hands, she was a merciless goddess.

 

Kylo mumbling something snapped her out of her reverie. 

 

She responded with an articulate, “huh?”

 

“You asked my major earlier. It’s Aerospace Engineering.”

 

“No way!” she exclaimed. 

 

“Yes… way?”

 

“Mine too!” Her eyes wide with excitement, a grin shot across her face. “This is so exciting! I haven’t met anyone else here with the same major!”

 

“That’s what I thought,” he said evenly.

 

“You knew?” Her eyebrows knit together, but the corners of her lips clung to a small smile. 

 

He ran his fingers through his soaking mane, glancing up at the cauldron-black sky that continued to boil over. 

 

“I just guessed from the context clues.”

 

“Like?” she asked, stretching the vowel sound like a rubber band. 

 

“Well, you are in my engineering course, you sketch planes and shuttles on any scrap of paper you can find, and you have a picture of the Mil- a space shuttle and it’s crew on your bulletin board,” he listed patiently. His suddenly furious expression was discordant with his calm voice. 

 

“What’s with that face?” she teased. “An aerospace engineering student who doesn’t like the Millenium Falcon?”

 

“It’s overrated,” he insisted, suddenly vehement.

 

“You know not liking things just because they are popular doesn’t count as a personality, right?” That boy’s side eye could kill a man, she thought.  _ Good thing I am no man. _ She fought to keep a straight face at her own little joke.

 

“It’s not as simple as not liking it, the entire Falcon series is inefficient! They cost taxpayers millions of dollars to make and the fuel systems are designed to be used only once!” he began with a gravely disdain, but crescendoed as he warmed to his topic. “Can you imagine Porsche or Lotus designing a sports car you had to replace every time you went on a date? No!”

 

“Yeah, landing shuttles has been done for a while now and SpaceX has already proved that they can land canisters.  It’s only a matter of time before the national programs get more sophisticated. What of it?”

 

“It’s not just inefficiencies in resources! The outdated fuel systems necessitate canisters that require more fuel, which generate more drag. It becomes a chicken and egg cycle of needing more fuel because the fuel takes up to much room. The entire thing was designed by a committee of subcontractors chosen because they submitted the lowest bid during the call for proposals and it shows. The only viable long-term solution for high-quality spacecraft is privatization, clearly! First Order Industries is the only one working on any real innovation these days.”

 

“I agree, the fuel system should be the next major overhaul, but you can’t possibly think that First Order will be around long term. You have to have seen the social media outrage against the high efficiency fuel sourcing you mentioned! The are destroying the natural habitat of a dozen endangered species and putting the drinking water of half of Montana in jeopardy.”

 

“There will always be people fighting against progress and _ may I remind you _ that the courts found First Order to be keeping the pollutant rates within the ranges listed in their permit,” Kylo bit out, his breath heavy in the gathering darkness. 

 

“Listen to yourself! You're saying that it’s fine because they are only killing the Earth a little bit at a time?” She shook her head emphatically. “No, people like that don’t deserve to touch the stars. They will just ruin them too.” 

 

Rey’s hazel eyes flared and she met his dark gaze, daring him to deny it. Kylo broke away from the heated stare first, noticing the deafening silence that enveloped them. The storm was over as quickly as it began.

 

“Come on,” he grunted, burying his hands in his pockets and stalking off in the direction of their dorm. They haltingly spoke a bit about Dr. Force’s class as they trudged back to their room, studiously avoiding anything more personal or contentious than the pre-lab questions that were due the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kulbit: a difficult aerial somersault that just looks plain cool. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZg0jZfI6Cg


End file.
